South Korean forum to offer tips to firms on investing in South India

CHENNAI: The South Korean Consulate will be hosting a seminar on ‘Current Economic Issues for Korean companies’ on Wednesday, where in number of Korean companies, which are keen on investing in South India, are expected to participate, according to Hong-yup Lee, Deputy Consul General of South Korea.

The seminar will be in Korean language and cover a comprehensive range of frequently inquired topics by Korean businessmen, including Corporate Social Responsibility, Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements Rules 2020 (CAROTAR 2020), Introduction to Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Support Centre in Chennai and its impact on Korean investments in South India.

Over 20 major Korean companies, including Hyundai Motors India Ltd, Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd, POSCO, Lotte, Doosan Bobcat, GS Global, KEB Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, will participate in the forum, which will be recorded and uploaded on the Consulate’s social media platform.
The first three-minute opening session of the seminar will be open to the media till the welcome address with necessary social distancing and safety protocols.This will be second such seminar. The first was held last month.

“This symbolizes strong willingness of the Korean government and companies in accomplishing their goal of contributing to economic growth in South India,” said Lee. In addition, the Consulate has highlighted government investment incentive policies of  Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the booklet, which will be distributed to at least 400 Korean companies and regional government in Korea.

Lee expressed full satisfaction that most of Korean companies such as Hyundai Motors, Kia and Samsung have fully recovered from the pandemic challenges and are currently making unprecedented historical revenue and profits.The success of Korean companies shall bring further investments from Korea to South India to boost the local economy.

During the suspension of international flight and visa restriction imposed since lockdown in March, the Korean companies faced several difficulties in bringing Korean businessmen and engineers who were in desperate need to operate their manufacturing facilities in Chennai. The  Consulate General, with the special help from States and Central governments, arranged the landing of charter flights and enabled movement of Korean businessmen and engineers to South India whenever necessary. 

Around 300 Korean companies, mostly Hyundai Motors, Kia Motors, Samsung electronics and their vendors, directly employ five lakh people and indirectly create two million jobs in South India.